Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

The service drive in a typical dealership sees more traffic than the showroom and gets more exposure than the F&I department. It goes without saying that the service drive is an important revenue generator and should be integrated seamlessly into your dealership’s automotive digital marketing strategy. There are more opportunities now than ever to drive traffic and increase customer loyalty to this profit center.

Use the four automotive digital marketing tactics below to increase service drive traffic and earnings:

1. Mobile Google Ads

Dealerships can place ads for service drive offerings on Google and optimize for mobile devices. With an increasing amount of web traffic taking place on handheld devices, service drives can capitalize on the advantages of mobile advertising. Create advertisements for flat tire repairs for those customers left stranded on the side of the road with nothing to help them but their smartphone and a search engine.

2. Facebook Advertisements

Facebook recently released breakthrough targeting capabilities with its Facebook Ads through Power Editor. This platform allows dealerships’ service drives to load existing contact databases into Power Editor to target those customers with advertisements for timely service reminders.

Dealerships can also use Facebook Ads to ultimately win the war even if a customer was originally lost to a competing dealership. Use ads targeted to consumers who bought your make in the last 36 or 48 months in your area to remind them to keep current on regular oil changes and maintenance.

3. Coupons & Special Offers

Be sure to keep your service drive and special offers page up-to-date with valid, downloadable coupons. Offer a discount for services completed mid-week or discounted oil changes for professionals from certain occupations, such as medical services personnel. These automotive digital marketing efforts will draw in the targeted segment of your choice while increasing consumer loyalty.

4. SEO Efforts

Dealerships should use automotive SEO efforts to optimize their site for increased profit margin repairs at the service drive. Embed keywords, title tags, and meta descriptions on service drive pages that relate to those repairs where the dealership makes the most off the top.

The service drive is where you are most effectively able to drive customer loyalty and CSI. Utilize these four tools to enhance your automotive digital marketing strategy and your service drive operation today.

 Written by Jim Flint, President & Founder

Every Customer is an Internet Customer

Today in the automotive retail industry, every customer is an Internet customer. With dealerships routinely securing over 15,000 visitors a month on their websites, the first place automotive retailers look to understand floor traffic and sales volume is the traffic generated from the website. In addition, online efforts and sales have become more important to a dealership than ever before. Gone are the days when Internet sales were only a function in one department; it’s now a critical function in every dealership department.

With the influx of revenue generated from web sales and traffic, Ward’s Auto Dealer has continued to acknowledge this trend by once again releasing its annual list of dealerships that utilize the Internet to drive business, ranked in order of web-driven sales. This list, called Ward’s Auto e-Dealer 100, pays tribute to the growing number and success of dealers using the Internet and automotive digital marketing to attract customers, identify vehicles for purchase and initiate the sales process.

Ward’s Auto and this list are so important to the automotive industry because they provide a benchmark for reporting accurate and valuable information. This list is made up of dealerships that, through performance tracking, have secured huge gains in a critical part of a fast-growing facet of the industry. Most dealers on this list were first-movers in the automotive digital marketing space and Ward’s annual report lauds them for stepping out ahead of the competition. Dealers that find themselves on this list have achieved an impressive goal.

Two Sides of the Coin

While this list provides tangible results for dealerships successfully using the Internet to further their automotive digital marketing strategies, several industry leaders have suggested that this report should be published on a monthly, rather than annual, basis. Their argument for more regular reporting stems from the thought that dealers receive R.L. Polk and factory reports on a monthly basis, so why not the e-Dealer Report? More regular publishing of this report could spur other dealers who aren’t currently utilizing automotive digital marketing or Internet efforts to realize the revenue they are leaving on the table. This could potentially help the industry grow at an even faster rate.

Ward’s has done a great job with the creation of this report and in establishing the proper protocol for an Internet sale. However, in today’s automotive space, the volume of leads, calls and website visits would lead any dealer to the conclusion that every customer is an Internet customer. With this in mind, let’s hope to see ranking lists such as Ward’s published on a more regular, ongoing basis in the near future so that Internet customers are valued more than in the past.

 Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

The more Google understands about your dealership’s website content, the more accurately it can display your site in its search results. In order to optimize your automotive SEO, embed structured data markup directly into your website pages. This structured data markup is a collection of HTML tags added to website pages to highlight valuable information that resonates with major search providers. This type of data provides search engines with a deeper understanding of your new and used inventory, therefore making your content more visible and able to drive more leads.

Google recently launched its Structured Data Markup Tool, which is designed to make web searches easier by using this structured data to your business’ advantage. Google’s SEO tool adds a new layer of markup to your pages to help drive more traffic to your site and increase click through rates by maximizing the effectiveness of your rich snippet descriptions, which contain information in addition to the title and meta description on your page. This tool allows your pages to stand out from the rest of the organic search results and ultimately, your competitors. Putting this tool to use makes your automotive SEO more powerful because your dealership’s site will no longer rely solely on your manual efforts to add information and keywords.

This means great things for your dealership’s vehicle display pages, or VDPs. You can improve your search rankings for deep linked inventory pages by feeding the search engines this specific information that you want users to see in a completely automated format. For example, you will now be able to enhance your automotive SEO by including vehicle prices, ratings, and reviews in the search query descriptions.

Follow the easy steps below to optimize your automotive SEO with Google’s Structured Data Markup Tool:

1. Choose the Products page option and enter the URL of one of your VDPs.
2. Assign tags by highlighting relevant information on the actual web page. For example, a Honda dealer would want to name one of its VDPs, 2013 Honda Fit Sport.
3. Complete the rest of the requested information, ensuring that all applicable details are populated in the sidebar on the right. Note that skipped information will cause your rich snippet to be less thorough when it comes to the search results.
4. Click the red Create HTML button.
5. Replace the existing HTML with the HTML generated for you through Google’s tool, which will appear highlighted in yellow.
6. Repeat for any number of VDPs you wish. This process should take about five minutes per page.
7. Include your revised VDPs in your website’s sitemap that is sent to Google and start watching your results appear higher on search engine pages!

Increase your click through rates and keyword rankings with this new tool that will greatly strengthen your automotive SEO and maximize your automotive digital marketing efforts. Drive more search engine traffic to your dealership site and increase sales volume with the help of Google’s new Structured Data Markup Tool.

 Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

A well thought out and executed SEO content marketing strategy is critical to receive high rankings on search engine sites, drive customers to your website, and increase sales from Internet conversions. The key to successful automotive SEO is to create content that is designed to benefit your target audience. Below are 5 types of automotive SEO content that will increase rank, drive traffic to your website, and generate profit.

1. Videos

Google’s acquisition of YouTube has made videos an important component of any SEO strategy because it uses data from YouTube to determine rankings. Consider posting videos describing new vehicle launches or how to connect a smartphone to the stereo system in one of your most popular vehicles.

Well-executed and optimized videos can draw huge amounts of traffic to your site. Focus on a catchy title, embedded keywords, and links to the corresponding page on your website. Descriptions that include specific keywords and a URL that includes the video title are critical. 

2. Blogs

Blogs are an engaging way to build authority and credibility. Consider posting blogs that offer a benefit to your service customers. You can offer guides that explain simple maintenance tasks such as how to change your oil or how to put on a spare.

Be sure to include keyword-rich text and post your service department phone number on every post. Your service drive customers will appreciate you sharing information and will be more inclined to share your content via social media. The use of keywords and social sharing with your blog posts will greatly enhance automotive SEO for your dealership.

3. VDPs

Vehicle Display Pages (VDPs) are the bread and butter of your dealership’s site and are important to your automotive SEO strategy. VDPs should include high quality, accurate images of the vehicles on your lot; avoid using stock images. Be sure to include keyword-rich descriptions of the inventory and include deep links to the VDP pages from search engine results. 

4. User-Generated Content

Create dedicated pages on your website for vehicle and dealer reviews. User-generated content is one of the most effective strategies to build your reputation in the community and open the door to higher search engine rankings. This content can add a valuable layer to your site that the competition lacks.

User-generated content will help your automotive SEO efforts by speaking to, attracting, and enticing action from your target audience. When users generate their own content on your site, they use their own terms for your vehicles and services offered. This will greatly help your dealership with keyword research and use in the future.

5. News

Add a tab onto your dealership’s website where you can post articles relating to news about your specific manufacturer’s vehicles and the automotive industry in general. These types of news sites are generally linked to and viewed more often than any other type of site! 

Add these 5 types of SEO content to your website and maximize your automotive digital marketing efforts. Beat out the competition by being more visible to your target audience and driving more traffic to your store.

 Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

The release of new core models is a great opportunity for dealerships to capitalize on the benefits of automotive inbound marketing.  Staying ahead of the game and creating early dominance on new car launches allows your dealership to capture those early buyers as well as own the digital space in your region for those models.

Increase Your Dealership’s Organic Search

Update your website tags, meta keywords and meta descriptions with the new vehicle’s keywords.  Utilizing these fresh keywords and locking down your area before the competition can quickly put your dealership ahead of the rest.  Not only can you hold down your own backyard, once your name and your area have been dominated, you can start using conquest campaigns to further increase your reach.

Automotive Facebook Ads

The recent improvements to Facebook’s Power Editor have helped dealerships better target their ideal customers.  Focus on an audience that has either leased a vehicle in the past two to three years or users who are currently in the market for a new car.  Power Editor allows you to see how many consumers you are reaching so you can tailor your ad to reach the appropriate people without narrowing your search too small.

Blogging and Content Creation

Using keywords can greatly benefit your Google organic ranking.  Don’t stop with your website; create content to not only increase your ranking but to also make your dealership a resource for automotive buyers.  By adequately optimizing your blog, your dealership will not only gain a top spot on Google, it will also be a trusted guide among consumers.

Maximize your automotive inbound marketing and stay ahead of your competition when new car launches come around.  The key to beating out the store down the road is by being proactive.  Make sure your dealership is using these three methods to increase leads before it’s too late to update and capitalize on the newest line up of vehicles.

 Written by Jim Flint, President & Founder

Creating and maintaining Vehicle Display Pages, or VDPs, is the best method to attract those bottom of the sales funnel customers to your dealership.  Making the most of these pages by keeping them clean, clear and concise will increase traffic to your site, store and service center.

A great way to make sure that your VDPs are optimized for your customers is to use Google Analytics to track which device they’re using when searching through your dealership’s website.  Are your customers mainly using their mobile device or a tablet? How are these customers getting to your site? These questions can be answered through Google Analytics with its traffic source report.

Google Analytics can also help you see where customers are entering and leaving your site.  These Top and Exit Pages can help a dealership determine which is the most effective page and which page may be unattractive or not user friendly.  You can also determine if your remarketing campaigns are working.  Efficient metrics help maintain better VDPs and an overall superior website, driving more traffic and more leads.

To help navigate through Google Analytics and all it has to offer, download our guide to easily read your metrics!

 Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

Yahoo! recently purchased the blogging and social site, Tumblr for $1.1 billion.  Tumblr and Yahoo! have made it clear that there will be no major changes to Tumblr down to the coloring of the site. “We’re not turning purple,” said David Karp, Tumblr’s founder and CEO.  Changes, however, are coming to Tumblr in the form of its dashboard.

The changes to the dashboard were to make reblogging easier and more streamlined for users.  These changes also will increase the social part of Tumblr, which is a big deal for Yahoo! since they’re hoping this merger will make their site more appealing to  younger generations.

Automotive Search Engine Optimization Through Tumblr

Tumblr previously had a bad reputation for search engine optimization (SEO) and its inability to aid in your Google organic searches.  However, now with the merger between the two companies, the value in Tumblr for the automotive industry has gone up.

Here are some tips on how to improve your Tumblr automotive search engine optimization:

• Keywords are just as important when posting on Tumblr as they are when you post on your website.
• Tumblr is an easy way to increase backlinking to your blog and/or dealership.
• Your posts’ titles should contain the relevant keywords as well as headings throughout your text.
• Keywords should also appear in your URL if possible.

In the ever-changing world of automotive digital marketing, Tumblr’s recent buy out makes it a platform to watch.  Utilizing your dealership’s social media to also increase your Google rankings can save time and money.

 Written by Jim Flint, President & Founder

Yesterday, Local Search Group’s work with Honda Cars of Katy was featured in Automotive News. Local Search Group handles online automotive marketing for the Houston area dealership and has made a big impact on its sales and revenue with automotive Facebook ads.

With the help of Facebook’s new targeting capabilities, Local Search Group was able to create various innovative automotive Facebook advertising campaigns for Honda Cars of Katy. One campaign that saw tremendous success was designed for professionals in the healthcare industry. The dealership posted Facebook ads that offered incentives to employees at each of the two nearby major medical centers, which each employ about 3500 people.

In a similar six-week campaign targeting the energy professionals in the area, Honda Cars of Katy saw a closing ratio of 33% on all dealership leads generated by the campaign, ultimately resulting in 16 units sold. With the help of Local Search Group, the dealership also successfully ran automotive Facebook ad campaigns targeted to new college grads and mothers in addition to ads incentivizing visits to the dealership’s service drive.

At Local Search Group, we pride ourselves on being your “non-vendor” vendor for automotive digital marketing. Our business was created after seeing a need firsthand in the automotive retail space. With our industry knowledge, our expertise in social media advertising, and the proven success we’ve helped create for Honda Cars of Katy and other automotive retail stores across the country, Local Search Group is the perfect automotive digital marketing partner.

To read the full article in Automotive News, click here.

To learn about Facebook’s new ad campaigns, download our free webinar on automotive Facebook ads.

 Written by Jim Flint, President & Founder

Pinterest has quickly become a household name and is climbing the ranks among automotive social media giants.  It is currently the third most popular social network with more than 12 million users in the United States.  Pinterest is unique because of its ability to connect brands with users more effectively than Facebook and Twitter.  According to Bizrate, over 69% of online customers purchase items through Pinterest or visit the social network for inspiration on future purchases.

To further illustrate Pinterest’s influence, only 24% of Facebook users use the site to associate with retailers or brands as opposed to 43% of Pinterest users.  Engaging with customers and creating brand loyalty through Pinterest is as easy as back linking a photo.

How to Use Pinterest in Your Dealership

Vehicle manufacturers are currently using a new way to connect with consumers through their Pinterest boards.  The Puzzle Photo Contest is a fun, competitive way to get customers involved with your brand and your boards by allowing them to build their own vehicle.  The contest also helps increase the dealership’s Pinterest search engine optimization (SEO) power.

Peugeot got into the competition by scattering photos throughout their website and social media outlets, gaining likes and followers along the way, to recreate their vehicles through Pinterest boards.

How Pinterest contests work:

1. A customer must create a board with the title of the contest, such as “Summer Savings”.
2. They must follow the dealership’s boards on Pinterest.
3. The dealership should pin 10 images from its website and/or social media site to the contest board and include the URL to the appropriate landing page.
4. Participants must then email the dealership with the link to the completed board in order to enter the contest.

Dealers can drive traffic not only to their dealership webpage, but also to their service drive. Whether dealerships want to offer a free oil change and tune-up or simply no money down on a new vehicle purchase, the interactivity with boards on Pinterest is an effective way to increase traffic and drive leads to your door.

 Written by Kathleen Perley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development

Don’t miss Jim Flint’s presentation “Avoiding the Automotive Bermuda Triangle of Your Advertising Budget” today, May 16, at 1:00PM.  His workshop for Automotive Boot Camp identifies key components of the automotive triangle to help navigate your dealership’s operations and maximize profits. Click -here- to download his presentation.